A Visit by Blazeourwat's Chris Z.

Monday, September 8

General relaxation in the campsite, enjoying somewhat cool but sunny conditions in the morning. It was clouding over and getting a little windy when Chris Z. of Blazeourway showed up in his truck camper rig. 

We chatted late into the evening catching each other up on things that's it's been a while since I've last seen him. 

Chris is enroute home after picking up some equipment for his overlander rig in Michigan. 

Tuesday, September 9

More general relaxation by both Chris and I at the campsite. The local chipmunk infestation have become quite brazen.  

Chris put out some leftover rice from a meal he brought. 

The weather got cool and windy in the afternoon so we just hung out in the RV until dinnertime.

Wednesday, September 10

Sunny morning, relaxing again about the campsite with a brief interlude to try out a popup gazebo purchased by Chris Z :

The only spot of Fall Color within site of camp so far:

We've woken to temps in the low 40s, the last 3 days.

T'Dubing the Four Mile/Buena Vista Area

Friday, September 5

An overcast and rainy day, no riding and basically just staying inside the VRRV to stay warm.

I woke to 51° outside and 58° I side so need to fire up the catalytic propane heater to warm things upon awakening.

Watched less than three camping rigs drive by, heading further up the valley to the campsites that are closer to the overlook points with a view of the Collegiate Peaks.

Saturday, September 6

I woke to 40° outside and 43° inside, not too bad but yeah, ran the heater for a little bit 

It turned out to be a clear but very hazy day.  Still, I decided to ride out as planned to check out Cottonwood Pass, about 22 miles west of town.

Traffic wasn't too heavy which was good since my TW200 was going through high altitude hiccups since I hadn't put in the high altitude jet in the carburetor.

The summit parking area was full of tourists, but the spots I like to use for pics were just big enough for Yagi only:

The view from the pass summit parking looking back the way I came up.

Rode back the way I came, tanked up in Buena Vista and rode back to camp by way of County 315.  I wanted to check how many campers had come in for the weekend.  Surprised to see less than 25% of the sites were occupied.

Sunday, September 7

A nice sunny morning that changed to partly cloudy but warm in the afternoon.

I rode out after lunch after a morning of lounging at camp.

I rode the Lenhardy Cutoff aka County 376 all the way to the Turtle Rock campground area.  Lots of whoop-de-doos on this "road", definitely not RV-able!  Still, not too technical, the only parts that gave me trouble were the deep sand sections where the road used dry creek beds.

At the high point section of 376:

Ended up near one of the camping sites I'd used before.  All sites in the area are now "designated" by signage now, to prevent idiots from making their own sites.

I then rode through the Midland Tunnels to pose Yagi:

The thumb shaped rock at the north end of the Midland Tunnels, there's a small campground there.

I also checked out the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area north of Buena Vista and on the western side of the Arkansas river.  Not bad sites, lots of trees and all the sites were occupied...so apparently popular.

Rode back to camp using the US285 Highway.  Didn't bother auditing site usage along County 315 this time 

Rest of the afternoon was mostly cloudy but nice and warm overall.

A View of the Collegiate Peaks

Wednesday, September 3

Didn't do much of anything except listening to an audiobook and enjoying the nice temperatures when the sun shone.

It would feel a little cool when cloudy but not bad at all.  The fact that there was only a light breeze helped of course.

The campsite is home to at least 5, possibly more, chipmunks.  Cheeky little buggers, they run about everywhere including under the VRRV.  I've propped the hood open to discourage them from nesting in the engine area 

Thursday, September 4

Rode the TW200 onto US285 and headed West towards Buena Vista.

I wanted to get pics of two of the Collegiate Peaks:

Mt. Antero on the left,

Mt Princeton on the right 

Mt. Princeton 

Less than a mile further from the above pic, I went to the Collegiate Peaks Overlook.  You're supposed to have a Colorado State Parks Pass but the ranger let me have 5 minutes:

Pano of the Collegiate Peaks

Mt. Princeton again

 

Boondocking near Buena Vista, CO

 I left the I overcrowded cesspool that is the Metro Denver area around 10:00 a.m. today. 

Shortly after 1:00 p.m., I was in Buena Vista filling the propane tank on the RV.  I had first tried to fill up the propane tank in Pine, but apparently the heat of the tank prevented the propane dealer from putting more gas in due to pressure inside.

By 3:00 p.m. I had procured that desired campsite off of Forest Road 305 and had setup camp.

It took longer than usual to set up camp, I was also learning to use a couple of driveway alert sensors and how to position them effectively. I'll be testing them over the next few days to see if they are worth anything.

Martha will be joining me in about 9 to 10 days. By then, the Fall Colors should be starting to show, so far nothing was seen as I drove.

Camping at 8924ft altitude, mostly cloudy skies and a brief rain sprinkle.  When the sun is out, it's really nice.